Départements
and Regions in France in Alphabetical order

French
départements all have a number
and you will find this number being used as part of the
local postcode and on vehicle registrations (even under
the new French car registration system).

Listed below are regions of France showing the Département
with the capital city/town (Préfecture).

Aquitaine
- One
of the largest regions in France. Aquitaine is in the very
south-west stretching from the Spanish border up the Atlantic
coast until it meets Poitou-Charentes, while to the east
it borders the Midi Pyrénées region. It is made up of five
departments: Pyrénées_Atlantiques (64 - Pau), Landes
(40 – Mont-de-Marsan), Gironde (33 - Bordeaux), Lot-et-Garonne
(47 - Agen) and Dordogne (24 - Périgueux) The main cities
and towns are: Bordeaux, Pergueux, Bergerac, Bayonne, Pau,
Biarritz, Arcachon, Mimizan and Lourdes.

Auvergne
-Right
in the heart of France, is Auvergne. This is the area that
includes the Massif Central. It has four departments. Allier
(03 - Moulins), Puy-de-Dome (63- Clemont-Ferrand), Cantal
(15 - Aurillac) and Haute Loire (43 – Le Puy). The main
cities and towns are: Clermont Ferrand, Moulins, Montluςon,
Aurillac and Vichy.

Burgundy
- This
is located to the south-east of Paris. Burgundy is best
known for its wines and fine cuisine. It has four departments.
Côte d’Or (21 - Dijon), Nièvre (58 - Nevers), Saône-et
Loire (71 - Mâcon) and Yonne (89 - Auxerre ).The main
cities and towns are: Dijon, Auxerre, Nevers, Beaune and
Macon.

Brittany
– This is France’s most north-westerly region and is very
much independent in tradition, culture and the Breton language.
It has a great deal of coastline. The four departments are:
Finistère (29), Côtes-d’Armor (22) Ille-et-Vilaine (35)
and Morbihan (56). The main cities and towns are: Rennes,
Vannes, Brest, Roscoff, Quimper, Lorient and St Brieuc.

Centre
– This
is in the centre, but commonly referred to as the Loire
Valley along with parts of it’s neighbouring region – Pays
de la Loire with the River Loire making the boundary between
the cooler north and warmer south of the country. The departments
are: Cher (18 - Bourges), Eure-et-Loir (28 - Chartres),
Indre (36 – Châteauroux), Indre-et-Loire (37 – Tours), Loir-et-Cher
(41 – Blois) and Loiret(45 Orléans). The main
cities and towns are: Tours, Orléans, Bourges, Chartres,
Blois and Châteauroux.

Franche-Comite
– This
areais on the border with Switzerland. It is the
region of the Jura mountains housing several ski resorts.
The departments are: Jura (39 Lons –le- Saunier), Haute
Saône (70 –Vesoul), Doubs (25 – Bescançon)
and
Territoire de Belfort (90 – Belfort) The main cities
are – Bescançon
and Belfort.

Languedoc
–
Roussillon – The southern region is bordered by the
Mediterranean on one side and the Pyrénées on the other.
It stretches from the Spanish border up to Provence. It
is well known as one of France’s sunniest regions. The five
departments are Gard (30 – Nîmes),Hérault ( 34 – Montpellier), Lozère (48 – Mende),
Aude (11 – Carcassonne) and Pyrénées-Orrientales
(66 – Perpignan). The
main cities include Montpellier, Perpignan, Carcassonne,
Béziers and Nîmes

Normandy
– Normandy
has a very similar climate to southern Britain. It follows
the coastline to the channel in the north. The area is famous
for its Calvados made from apples, butter, cheese and distinctive
architecture. There are five department that are: Calvados
(14 – Caen), Manche ( 50 – St-LÔ), Orne (61 –Alençon),
Seine-Maritime (76- Rouen), and
Eure (27
– Ėvreux)The main towns
and cities are: Rouen, Caen, Cherbourg, Dieppe, Le Havre,
Honfleur and Deauville.

Nord-Pas
de Calais -Like
Normandy the climate is very similar to Southern Britain.
There are two departments – Pas de Calais (62 – Arras)
and Nord (59 – Lille). The main cities and towns
are: Calais, Lille, Boulogne, Dunkerque, Le Touquet, Douai
and Arras.

Picardy
–
Located south of Nord-Pas de Calais. A small part of north
faces the channel– The region is split into three departments. These
are: Aisne
(02 – Laon), Oise (60 – Beauvais) and
Somme (80
– Amiens).The
main towns are: Amiens, Beauvais and Laon.

Poitou-Charentes
– This
is one of France’s western regions. It is a very sunny region
with some coast bordering onto the Atlantic. The Departments
are: Charente (16 – Angoulême), Charente-Maraitime (17
– La Rochelle), Deux Sèvres (79 – Niort) and Vienne
(86 – Poitiers). The main towns are: Angoulême, La Rochelle,
Poitiers, Royan and Saintes.

Provence
& Cote d’Azur– Probably
the warmest part of France – known for it’s hot summers
and mild winters, the French Riviera has been popular for
English visitors since Victorian times.Provence has five departments – Bouches du RhÔne,
(13 – Marseille), Vaucluse ( 84 - Avignon), Var (83 – Toulon)
and Alpes de Haute-Provence (04 – Digne).Cote d’Azur borders Italy and Monaco and is at
the southern tip of the Alps and close to ski resorts. It
only has the one Department – Alpes-Maritimes (06 - Nice)The main towns and cities are: Avignon, Nice,
Marseilles, Arles, St Tropez, Cannes, Digne Gap, Briançon,
Menton and Toulon.

Rhones-Alpes
– This is very much a mountainous region that is on the
east side of France north of Provence and the Cote d’Azur.
It is naturally a very popular ski region. There are eight
departments. Ain (01 – Bourg-en-Brese), Ardèche (07 –
Privas), Drôme
(26 – Valence), Isère (38 - Grenoble), Rhône
(69 – Lyon), Savoie ( 73 – Chambéry), Haute Savoie (74 –
Annecy) and
Loire (42 –ST-Ētienne). The main towns and cities
are: Annecy, Chambéry, Grenoble, Lyon, Montélimar, St Etienne
and Valance.